


I Found You

by DryDreams



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Ghost Gabe, M/M, this is the most wholesome thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 12:04:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21243806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DryDreams/pseuds/DryDreams
Summary: Jesse goes back to the haunted house. This could have gone so much worse





	I Found You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptainNeedsNoSleep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainNeedsNoSleep/gifts).

“Genji!”

Jesse called down the empty hallway, nervousness settling in the pit of his stomach. 

“I ain’t in the mood for foolin’, you better come back. I only agreed to come to this godforsaken place this ‘cause you were going to be here,” he called out again. An ominous creak came from somewhere behind him and he jumped, hat nearly falling off his head. _“Genji!”_

The abandoned house they’d decided to explore— or rather, that Genji heavily pressured Jesse into exploring by calling him a chicken— was oppressively dark. The flashlight didn’t show him every corner at the same time. Silent Hill had fucked him up, and that was just a _video game_, he was going to _die._

It had been bad enough with Genji there to startle him. Now a Genji had fucked off, was probably getting possessed in the attic, and Jesse was fucking terrified. 

“Hello?” He said a little more quietly. Rather defeated. Honestly, why was he still here? He didn’t have anything to prove, it would be fine if he just turned around, went back to the front door, and left. 

Except that this place was immense and he didn’t actually know how to get back. Oh God, it was a haunted labyrinth and he was going to be trapped here forever. He hadn’t even said goodbye to his dog. 

If Genji wasn’t dead he was gonna be as soon as Jesse got out of here.

“Hello?”

An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind Jesse and his soul left his body. “Jesus _fucking Christ,”_ Jesse yelped and spun around, pointing his flashlight toward the source of the voice. For a moment he could have sworn there was no one there. Then he blinked, and standing in front of him was a handsome guy in a dark hoodie. 

“Dude, what the fuck? You can’t just go around saying things to people who are alone in haunted houses.” Jesse said, only slightly relieved that he wasn’t getting swallowed whole by some terrifying creature, heart still pounding in his ears.

The man smiled, and _wow okay,_ he was a rare kind of gorgeous. Dark hair, longer on the top and eyes so dark they looked black in the dim light. “How else was I supposed to get your attention? Would you have preferred I just tap you on the shoulder after silently approaching?”

Jesse stared at him for a moment and then smiled crookedly back. “Touché.”

After a moment he realized that the man was just looking at him expectantly, and he had just been staring. Embarrassed, he shuffled his feet and rubbed at the back of his neck. “So uh, what are you… what brings you … what’s a guy like you doin’ in a place like this?”

The man cocked his head. “I would ask you the same question, but you look exactly like the sort of guy who’d be in a place like this.”

Jesse sputtered. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean!?”

Just then, Genji’s voice echoed down the hall. Jesse’s eyes widened as the man grinned at him, and something about it felt _hungry_. “I’ll be here,” he said, and before Jesse could ask what the fuck that meant, there was a loud bang from behind him. Still jumpy, he whipped around to see what it was. There was nothing there. When he turned back, the man was gone. 

Genji found him moments later, staring baffled into the darkness, feeling like he’d had a fucking spell put on him. “Dude, where have you been!?” Genji said, throwing an arm around Jesse’s shoulder, jostling him. 

“I, uh…” 

Jesse had no idea what to say. 

“Whatever, man. There’s nothing cool here, anyways. Not a single ghost. Let’s bust this popsicle stand.”

Wordlessly, Jesse let himself be dragged back through the maze of house, which Genji apparently had no trouble navigating. He only looked back once. 

Obviously, Jesse didn’t go back. Obviously!

Well. He didn’t go back… right away.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about. The man in the house. Why on earth had he been there? Where had he gone? Why was he so _pretty?_

Too many unanswered questions. Jesse was not brave per se. He was however the cat that curiosity killed. 

He went back. 

Alone, this time, like a maniac but he didn’t want to be interrupted again. Also he felt, oddly safe now? Like somehow he knew that the house wouldn’t hurt him?

Jesse did not analyze this.

Armed with a flashlight, he made his way in through the busted up back door again. _What the fuck, was he doing? The dude wasn’t going to be here again what on earth was he thinking?_

“Hello?” 

He peered into the darkness. “Anybody home?”

Far too quickly, and with a sense of deja vu, a voice came from behind him.

“You came back.”

Quickly, Jesse spun around. More from excitement than fear. But there wasn’t anyone there. 

“Over here, cowboy.”

More carefully, Jesse shone his flashlight around. And there he was. The light hit him in a weird way, a way Jesse couldn’t put his finger on. But boy was he even prettier than Jesse remembered.

“Oh, hey,” Jesse said inelegantly. He hadn’t really thought further than this. 

“You’re cute,” the man said. He hadn’t come any closer. That was fine. “Why did you come back?”

What a great question. “Because … um … “ Jesse wracked his brain for any answer other than ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about your face, mysterious stranger!’

Before he came up with anything, the man held up a hand, smiling gently. “It doesn’t matter. Come with me.”

_This is how I die,_ Jesse thought grimly but he stepped over a broken chair and did anyways. 

Instead of bringing him into the basement and killing him, the man took him on a tour of the house. Jesse listened, rapt as he told the story of the people who’d lived here ages ago, what each room was for, what wild things had lead to the house being disused. Often he had a really far away look in his eye— or so Jesse thought. Maybe that’s just how he always looked. 

“So you’re a historian, huh?” He asked during a long pause. 

The man tipped his head to the side, looking at Jesse curiously. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.”

Jesse squinted back at him. “Well how else would you put it? Is this like, your favorite house? Do you know stuff about other old houses?”

After thinking for a moment, the man said “Sort of.”

Sitting down on the arm of a solid looking chair, Jesse raked his fingers through his hair, trying to think. Being here made his brain so funny things. It was hard for him to pay attention to anything other than the man, and the house and the stories. “How did you know I’d be here today?” He asked finally.

“I didn’t.”

“So you’re just here all the time?”

“Yes.”

“Who… who the hell even are you? 

The man smiled. “It usually doesn’t take people so long to ask. My name is Gabriel.”

Jesse was glad to have something to call him now, but. “That super doesn’t answer the question.” 

As if on cue, like this was some sort of suspenseful tv show and there was need for a cliffhanger, Jesse’s cellphone rang. For a second he just stared at Gabriel and Gabriel stared back. Then Jesse snapped out of it and fumbled in his pocket, pulling out the device and flipping it open. 

“Hello?”

“Jesse, where the hell are you? It’s 2 in the fucking morning!”

“Genji! Fuck, it’s.. what??”

Time had passed so quickly. He’d been here for hours.

“Are you drunk? Where are you?”

“I’m. No, I just. Got caught up talking to a friend.” 

Jesse glanced at Gabriel who was picking at a piece of peeling wallpaper looking bit sad. When Jesse said friend, he smiled to himself. Jesse looked away. 

“I’ll be back soon, don’t worry about it.”

“Just text me next time so I don’t worry about you, asshole.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I will.”

When he hung up, Gabriel turned back to him. “If you wanted to come back, I could tell you more. Or you could… tell me something?”

Ignoring the warning signs in the back of his mind, Jesse nodded. “We could always, y’know. Go somewhere else? Get coffee?”

Gabriel looked sad again. “Maybe someday. But there’s still so much to say.”

“Um. Sure, okay. I’ll hold you to that.”

“The door is just down those stairs.” Gabriel nodded out the door, and Jesse gave him a grateful smile as he stood up. 

“Thanks for the history lesson, Gabe,” he said and held out his hand to shake. Gabriel just looked at it. 

Awkwardly Jesse pulled it back. “I’ll uh. See you around?”

Without even acknowledging the tension, Gabriel looked back up at him and smiled brightly. “Yes!”

This time, Jesse made it out of the house on his own. As he walked out into the cool air, his head seemed to clear. He still felt that pull, though. He knew he’d come back. Was this what having a crush was like? It had been a while. Maybe. 

Against his better judgement, Jesse went back to see Gabriel several times after that. He settled on Wednesday nights, just to have some routine. Every time he went, though, it got harder to stay away. All he could think about was Gabriel’s voice and his smile, the graceful way he moved. He had started asking Jesse about his own life, and he was such a good listener, Jesse ended up just spilling everything. 

At some point he realized that Gabriel knew far more about him than he did about Gabriel. Which, considering he was a dude who hung out in an abandoned house and wore different shade variations of the same sweater seemingly every day, was unsurprising. 

The most frustrating thing was that Gabriel seemed completely averse to touch. This was entirely fair, and Jesse was not entitled to the privilege. But he was enamored. He _dreamed_ about what it would be like to simply brush against the man. 

Gabriel was careful, tho. He always stayed at an arms length and Jesse never pushed it. 

The distance didn’t do anything to hide the way Gabriel looked at him, though. There was longing in his eyes, Jesse swore it. At first he thought it was just his hopeful imagination, but after a little while, he was so sure. Gabriel stared at him. Looked at him when he didn’t think Jesse was looking and smiled, or bit his lip. You can’t just do that to a man, Jesse always thought. 

“Gabe, why do you always stay so far away?” He asked boldly, one day. They were in one of the living rooms, Jesse on a couch that he had become rather fond of and Gabriel standing in front of the window. He never sat down. 

Immediately after he asked, Jesse felt guilty, because Gabriel looked startled and then sad. 

“I’m sorry,” Jesse backpedaled immediately. “There was no need for me to ask, I…”

“No, it’s okay.” Gabriel responded and, took a step closer. Jesse’s breath caught in his throat. 

“I’m… frightened.” Gabriel said after thinking for a moment. Jesse’s heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t such a crazy reason after all.

“Oh man, well I don’t bite I promise,” he said earnestly.

“No, you don’t understand.” Gabriel looked so sad.

“Look,” Jesse sat up straight. “You’re super weird. But you’re my friend, and you seem real fuckin’ lonely. If you need like, a hug or somethin’... damn, that’s stupid, I just ... If it’s me you’re worried about, you don’t have to be.”

With a sigh, Gabriel closed his eyes and took another step forward. Respectfully, Jesse stayed still. “I suppose this had to happen eventually. I’m sorry.” Gabriel said and reached out his hand as if to shake. 

Painfully confused, Jesse took it. Or rather, he tried to. 

His hand passed right through Gabriel’s.

Shocked, he pulled his arm back and stared at Gabriel’s hand. His mind wasn’t racing, like it should be. Oddly enough, it was quiet. He… understood? Somehow he’d known all along? 

Quietly, Gabriel spoke. “I’ll miss you.”

Jesse’s eyes snapped to his face. For a moment he was disoriented, his eyes struggling to focus and then he realized he could see the moon through Gabriel’s face. 

“Oh.” He said simply.

Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re not running.”

Jesse put his hands in his lap. “I mean, you’re not very threatening.”

“You’re disappointed.”

That was true. Jesse sighed. “If I’m being honest with you, yeah. But not because… well, I guess it is because… God, you’re a fucking ghost. It really just is my luck.”

There was a moment of silence. Gabriel sat down on the couch, or… sat through it, sort of. He got the gist of it. Dejectedly Jesse realized that Gabriel had never made audible footsteps. This whole thing was sort of a callout for just how bafflingly unobservant Jesse was. 

“I wish I could touch you, too.” Gabriel said finally and Jesse felt crushingly sad. Then the meaning of that dawned on him and his jaw dropped slightly.

“Wait, you do?”

Smiling sadly, Gabriel just nodded.

“Oh my God, I wasn’t imagining it.”

“Imagining what?” Gabriel cocked his head in that familiar way and Jesse felt warm. 

“The way you looked at me.”

Disconcertingly, Gabriel got a bit more solid. “I didn’t mean to look at you in any sort of way?” He said, looking flustered to Jesse’s delight. 

“I really don’t mind if we can’t touch. You can come closer now, though, if you want,” Jesse said earnestly. After a moment, Gabriel hesitantly did. Less scooting, more drifting, towards Jesse until their knees would have been brushing. Instead they just sort of overlapped. 

“This has never happened before,” Gabriel said quietly. 

Jesse looked up from where he’d been inspecting their knees, fascinated. “What hasn’t?”

“Someone treating me like I’m still a person.”

Jesse frowned. “Well you are, aren’t you? You’re here thinking and talking to me, and everything.” 

“You realize how crazy you are, right?” Gabriel asked, looking at him in wonder. 

“I suppose. It’s not like you ever tried to kill me or anything. And let's be honest, meeting some dude in an old house was weird from the beginning,” Jesse admitted.

“You don’t want to know, how I died or how long I’ve been here or if I can sleep or anything?”

“Uhhh. I mean, I do. But asking seemed rude? How many people have you actually talked to in here, man? Those jeans you’re wearing seem to imply that you haven’t been here for millennia.” 

Gabriel grinned. “Was it the sweater? Is that why you didn’t think I was a ghost?”

The fucking sweater. Jesse ignored the fact that Gabriel had changed the subject because this needed to be addressed. “I was under the impression ghosts couldn’t change their clothes, asshole, of course that was a factor.”

“It’s the same sweater, just different shades of grey, you idiot!”

“You are a fucking deceiver that’s what you are.” 

Gabriel was full-on laughing at him now, something he had never really done before. Jesse went quiet, watching him.

“You can’t leave, huh?” He asked after a moment.

It was a sobering question, and Gabriel’s smile fell. “No.”

Jesse thought for a moment, considering his options. 

“Looks like I’m buying a house.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry that I couldn’t pull off something longer, but I hope you like this and I hope it makes you smile. Happy almost Halloween !!!!!


End file.
